Resident Evil Village

Summary	Plot	Gameplay	Development	Marketing	Reception	Credits	Gallery	Translation errors	Further notes

Resident Evil Village entered production around August 2016, three months before the completion of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and six before its release. It was agreed on from the start that the game should be a continuation of that game's story. In designs for the village itself, art director Tomonori Takano was tasked with creating a foreboding environment that would have its effects even in the daytime setting. Feeling the story might become complicated for the player to remember, a storybook was designed that the player would read to get a summary.

Pre-production

The game was pitched as a continuation of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, both narratively and in style. Morimasa Sato pitched a village setting as a way of building up from the previous game which was set in and around a single family home. The game's code-name early on was "Village", though as a AAA title this would have inevitably become "BIOHAZARD 8". When Morimasa Sato expressed concern the number "8" would make the series inaccessible to new fans, the other development leads agreed and decided "BIOHAZARD Village" was a more interesting title.

Taking the previous game into account during development, it was also decided that the planned "scares" in the game be more spread out than concentrated, with a December 2017 survey suggesting both that some people didn't want to play the game due to the opening game's eerie atmosphere, as well as players being desensitised to the style of horror too early and making later scares ineffective.

Story

Early artwork visualising a Mediaeval setting for the game.

Unlike many other games which are pitched as standalone stories unrelated to their predecessors, it was already being considered in 2016 that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard should have a sequel which would continue Ethan Winters' story. Rather than him being a blank slate for the player as intended in that game, it was felt that Village would treat him as a more lively character.

The basic story developed out of the early pitch, which revolved around a European village lost to time and a castle. One of the early ideas that was abandoned was that the story would be split between two protagonists, with the second surviving an outbreak in Mediaeval times.

Design

As Sato had pitched a "Gothic horror" approach to the game, the character, enemy and location designs drew heavy inspiration from this genre.

Locations

Castle Dimitrescu went through a considerable transition over the course of the game. Though it was always planned to appear, early concept art depicted instead a large house.

Creatures

The Lycans were designed as an equivalent to werewolves, while the Dimitrescus and the Moroi were inspired by vampire lore and fiction, and Salvatore Moreau was a reinterpretation of mermen.